Latching device for hopper cars



///5 ATTORNEY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VENTOR A LBIERT E Z lMMER A E ZTMME'RLATCHING DEVICE FOR HOPPER CARS May 12, 1953 Flled July 21, 1949 May 12,1953 A. E, YZIMMER LATCHING DEVICE FOR HOPPER CARS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed July 21, 1949 IN VEN TOR A LBERT E Z/MMR? B) fl/S A770 PatentedMay 12, 1953 LATCHING DEVICE FOR HOPPER CARS Albert E. Zimmer, Chicago,Ill., assignor to Enterprise Railway Equipment Company, Chicago, 111., acorporation of Illinois Application July 21, 1949, Serial No. 105,915

This invention relates, generally, to latching devices and particularlyto such devices for use in holding closed the doors of hopper cars.

Among the objects of this invention are: To provide new and improvedmeans for latching a vertically suspended door in an inclined closedposition; to arrange and construct the latch mechanism so that thenecessary car clearance limitations are met; to provide a shoulderedlocking latch below the sloping floor of a car hopper and to extend itthrough the plane of the floor to engage a seat on an outer portion ofthe door; to construct the latch so that it clears a wall of a framemember underlying the floor of the hopper; to provide for manuallyreleasing the latch; and to lock the latch in the closed position.

Other objects of this invention will, in part, be obvious and in partappear hereinafter.

This invention is disclosed in the embodiment thereof shown in theaccompanying drawings, and it comprises thefeatures of construction,combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will beexemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope ofthe application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

For a more complete understanding of the nature and scope of thisinvention, reference can be had to the following detailed description,taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a View, in side elevation, of a hopper door in the openposition and showing how it is mounted on a hopper of a hopper car andlatched thereto, the view being taken through the lower portion of ahopper car, certain parts of which are shown in section, and the viewillustrating approximately one-half the width of the car;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the latch assembly including the shoulderedlatch, operating shaft and operating handle assembled apart from thecar; i

Figure 8 is a view, in side elevation, of the shouldered latch shown inFigure 2;

Figure 4 is a view, in side elevation, of the hopper and door shown inFigure 1;

Figure fi'is a' view similar to Figure 4 except the door isshown closedand certain partsare shown in section, the section being taken along theline 5-5 of Figure l; and i r 2 Claims. (Cl. 105-308) 2 Figure 6 is adetail sectional view taken along the line 6-6 ofFigure 5..

Referring now particularly to Figure 1 of the drawings, it will beobserved that the reference character It designates a conventionalcenter sill of a hopper type railway car, only a portion of the-sillbeing shown. Spaced from the center sill Hi and parallel thereto is acar side wall ll between which is located a hopper I 2. The hopper 12 isformed by an upper sloping floor I3, a lower sloping floor M, a verticalinner side wall l5, Figure 6, and an outer sloping side wall IS. Thefloors I3 and I4 and the side walls l5 and i6 together define atrapezoidal hopper opening l1, Figures e and 6, which is bounded by aframe that is indicated, generally, at I8.

The frame 18 includes an upper beam portion l9 which is secured alongthe lower edge of the upper sloping floor l3 and a stirrup portion 20which is generally T-shaped in cross section. As shown in Figure 6 thestirrup portion 20 includes a flat flange 2| which is positioned alongthe outer edges of the side walls l5 and I6 and also along the outeredge of the lower sloping floor H. A web 22 extends outwardly from theflange 2|. The upper beam portion l9 and the stirrup p rtion 20 may besecured in position by suitable means such as rivets 23. g

As shown more clearlyin Figures 1, 4 and 5 of the drawings, hinge butts26 are formed integrally with and extend outwardly from the upper beamportion 19. Hinge pins 21 extend through the hinge butts 26 forinterfitting with the upper ends of hinge straps 28 that may be securedby rivets 29 to the door 30. It will be noted that the door 30 isgenerally pan-shaped and that it completely closes the trapezoidalhopper opening IT with its edges 3| turned inwardly so as to overlap theside walls I5 and I6 and the lowermost edge of the lower sloping floor I4. it

In considering means for holding the door 30 in the closed position,attention must be given to the allowable clearances which must bemaintained between the parts of the car, the road bed and the rails.With these factors in mind provision is made for latching the door 30closed and permitting it to be opened by providing a shouldered latchwhich is indicated, generally, at 33 inFigure 3. The shouldered latch33includes a support portion 34 which has a hub 35,

Figure 2, formed integrally therewith. The hub 35 may be secured by arivet or pin 36 to a shaft 3'! which may be journaled in suitablebearings 38 and 39, Figure 6, that are carried by the portion of thestirrup 2t which underlie the lower sloping floor i l. Any suitablemeans may be provided such as rivets so for securing the bearlugs 33 and39 in position.

Referring again to Figure 3 of the drawings, it will be observed thatthe shouldered latch 33 has a reentrant portion 32 extending from thesupport portion 34. The purpose of the reentrant portion tars to clearthe rearwardly extending portion of the hat flange 2| as illustratedmore clearly in Figure 5 of the drawings.

The shouldered latch 38 also includes a shank portion 43, preferably ofI cross section, having a hook portion is at the outer end which has alocking face the center of curvature of which is the center of theopening through the support portion St or the longitudinal axis of theshaft '37 when the latch 33 is assembled thereon. The radius of thelocking face 45 is indicated by the broken line 45 in Figure 3. lhe hookportion M has an inclined surface ll which facilitates the i with abeam58, Figure 1, for holding the door .30 3

in the closed position. As her-e shown the beam comprises a flat plateportion or flange "5| which lie flat against the outer surface of thedoor 30 at its lower end and is secured thereto by rivets 52. An opening'53 is formed in the flange 5| which iscoextensive with the open 49 inthe door .38. The opening 53 is defined by outstanding flanges 5d and aseat portion 5:5 along the upper edge having a curved surface forengaging the locking face 45 of the shouldered latch 33. The curvatureof the .seat portion 55 which is engaged by the locking face A5 is thesame as that of thi locking face, i. e., its center is at the center ofthe shaft 3? on which the latch 33 is secured.

With a view to preventing the escape of .lading from the bottom of thehopper l2 when the door '3!) is closed, an inverted U-shaped housing56may be secured, as by welding, to the lower sloping floor 1| 2.. .Itsout-turned end 52 .F taposed to the inner surface-of the door 30 when itis closed. In this .manner the openings 38 and "4.9 in the floor Hi anddoor 3!), respectively, are closed when thelatter is in the closedposition. However, sufficient room is provided to permit the movement ofthe latch 33 to the unlatched position in a manner which will bedescribed now. Any suitable means may be employed for rockthe shaft '37for moving the shouldered latch 33 from the latched position shown inFigure 5.

.As illustrated in Figure "2, an operating handle for socket 58 isprovided in accordance with the present invention havin a hub 59 whichmaybe .secured'by a rivet or .pin 5i! so that the assembly fast on theouter end of the shaft .A

provides the operator with sufficient leverag to rock the .latch 33 tothe .unlatched position.

With .a View to locking the latch .33. in the Also, as shown in igure5., i juxlatched position, a locking dog 62 which is gen erallysemicircular in shape may be provided. The locking dog 62 is rockablymounted on a pin 63 which extend between brackets 64, Figure 6, whichare secured on an extension 65 of the bearing 38.

The locking dog 62 may be provided with a laterally extending integrallyformed stop 66 which, as shown in Figure 4, is arranged to bear againstthe nose portion 61 of one of the brackets 84 to hold the dog 52 in theunlatched position. As shown in Figure 5 the stop 66 engages the upperside of the bracket 64 to limit the move ment of the dog 62 therebetwen.As shown in Figure 5 the dog 62 holds the operating handle or socket 58in the position where the shouldered latch .33 is in the latchedposition with the lockin face 45 in engagement with the seat portion 55.

When the door .30 is to be opened, the operator swingsthe locking-dog 62from the position shown in Figure 5 to the position shown in Figure 4.Then he inserts a suitable bar in the socket opening l3! and rocks theoperating handle or socket 58 together with the shaft 37 and shoulderedlatch 33 in a clockwise direction. Since the radius of curvature of thelocking face 45 is such that the center is located-along thelongitudinal axis of the shaft 37, the increments]? the shouldered latch33 to the unlatched position is facilitated. As soon as the hook portionit clears the seat 55, the door 358 swings open under the influence ofgravity and the force of the lading bearing against the same.

With the ,parts as illustrated in Figure 4, the door 36 can be swung tothe closed position. The inclined surface ll first engages the underside.of the seat portion 5.5 and, on continued closing movement of the doorill], the latch 33 is swun downwardly in a clockwise position until thupper end of the incl ned surface t! clears the lowermost portion of theseat I55. Thereafter the weight of the operating handle or socket titand the portion of thelatch 33 to the left of the longitudinal axis ofthe shaft Bl as viewedinFigure 2 is sufficient to counterbalance theportions to the right of this axis and to cause the latch 33 to berocked in a counterclockwise direction to the latched position as.s'hownin Figure 5. Thereafter the locking dog G2 is rotated to thelocked position shown in Figure 5.

Since certain changes can be made in the foregoing construction anddifferent embodiments of the invention can be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope thereof, it is intended that all mattershownin the accompanying -drawings and described hereinbefore shall beinterpreted as illustrative and not in limiting sense.

What is claimed as new is:

1. In a-railway car having :a hopper with :a discharge opening and .adoor hinged along :one

side of said opening for closing :the same, said hopper including .afloor sloping downwardly .towards said Opening .for directing ladingthereto and said door being swingabletomeet the :lower- .most edge ofsaid floor in closed position, and a frame member having a .flat wallunderlying :said floor; in combination, a shouldered latch for holdingsaid door in "closed position, and support means pivotally mounting saidlatch beneath said frame member, said latch extending through the planeof said door :for engagement with said door and having a ,reentrantportion straddling said frame member.

2. In a railway "car .having'a hopper with a discharge opening andincluding :a floor sloping downwardly towards said opening for directinglading thereto, in combination, a door hinged along the upper Side ofsaid opening and swingable to meet the lowermost edge of said floor insaid latch away from the former when said door is closed, and biasingmeans urging said latch toward said seat portion whereby the same isengaged automatically on closure of said door closed position and havingan opening near the 5 to lock the same.

side opposite the hinge side, a seat portion at the upper side of saidopening in said door, a shouldered latch pivotally mounted beneath saidfloor and extending through the plane thereof for extending through saiddoor opening and engaging said seat portion to hold said door closed,the portion of said latch which projects through said door openinghaving an inclined surface for cooperating with said seat portion tomove ALBERT E. ZIMMER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

